Paleo Coconut Power Bar Bites

Mmmm! A new recipe is here!

With a little time on my hands and some ripe bananas to use, I created a new bar recipe. This one is Paleo Coconut Power Bar Bites...and since it's Paleo, it's also gluten-free, dairy-free, with only naturally occurring sugars, (and accidentally vegan). These are a sweet treat, not unlike a cookie--so that's why I'm cutting mine into square inch bites.

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a large Pyrex baking dish, combine:

• 5 small/medium ripe bananas (mashed)
• 2 cups shredded UNSWEETENED coconut
• 1 cup hemp hearts
• 1/3 cup chia seeds
• 1/3 cup goji berries
• 1/2 cup pecans (chopped)

In a separate bowl combine:

• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 1 cup pitted dates (blended *I did mine with a hand blender along with the top two ingredients)

Mash the date blend into the Pyrex dish with the other mixed ingredients. Press evenly into the pan, and smooth edges.

Bake at 300 degrees for 50 minutes. Allow to cool. Cut into little bite size squares!

Enjoy :)

Dairy-Free Crock Pot Butternut Squash Soup

I've been on a bit of a roll with soup lately. My old crock pot unfortunately died, and we picked up a new one...so of course, I've been inspired to use it!

Overnight I made a delicious crock pot soup, and I'm happy to share the recipe here! It's gluten-free, and dairy-free. It's got a subtle hint of cinnamon and is absolutely belly and heartwarming.

Butternut Squash Soup

4 cups chicken broth
1 butternut squash: peeled, seeded, and diced (pieces don't have to be of equal size)
2 carrots, diced
1 large yam, peeled, and diced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon cinnamon
salt and pepper, to taste

Simple ingredients! Just dump them all in a Crock Pot, stir, and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Once finished, blend up with a hand blender.

Enjoy!

Crock-Pot Mango Coconut Chicken Curry

Absolutely delicious, and a wonderful lunch to bring to work! This makes a crock-pot full!

Ingredients:

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon coconut oil (if you don't have this, go ahead and use butter)
1 can coconut milk
2 cups diced carrots
1 zucchini, quartered, then diced
2 tomatoes, diced
2 mangos, skinned and diced
2 bell peppers, colours of your choice, diced
1 1/2 tbsp medium curry powder
1 tbsp grated ginger
1/4 cup cilantro (I used freeze dried)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
salt, and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Toss it all in your crock-pot or slow cooker, and stir.
Cook on low for 9 hours. No need to stir!

Roasted Chestnuts

It's that time of year (in Vancouver anyways...) that the roasted chestnut vendors scatter the streets downtown. Those difficult to peel, but delightful and filling bites are such a treat when you're doing your Christmas shopping, but have you ever considered making them at home? I sure hadn't...until I saw raw chestnuts on display at my local No Frills.

This is a super easy recipe that takes about 40 minutes. When shopping at the grocery store, pick the large round chestnuts with a smooth glossy shell. Keep them in the fridge until you're ready for them. From my research, they should last in the fridge about 2 weeks...but I wouldn't keep them that long.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Hold the pointy end of the chestnut from your forefinger to the flatter end with your thumb. Make a thin slice across the rounded part of the chestnut shell, making sure you cut through the shell part (but don't go too deep). Use a serrated knife, versus a smooth blade.

3. Toss the chestnuts into a pie pan, making sure there's only one layer (don't stack them)

4. Bake for 35 minutes.

5. Enjoy!

Perfect Pork Loin Rub

If you haven't already discovered this, Costco sells the BEST pork loins. They come in packs of 5 or 6 in the fresh meat section, so you can pack them up and freeze them, cooking only one at a time.

Tonight I made a perfect pork loin rub, adapted from an online recipe I found to accommodate my allergies. It's sweet, with a hint of heat that can be adjusted by the amount of crushed peppers you add! This recipe is enough for one pork loin.

I rubbed this mixture onto the pork loin only minutes before wrapping in tin foil and baking at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Enjoy!

Ingredients: (I measured very loosely, so play a little with this recipe to develop your favourite blend!)

1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp coarse black pepper
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp thyme

Shake it up! Rub it on!

Creamy Curried Potatoes and Swiss Chard

I am all about the Thai curry. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like I'm tucked underneath the covers with a burning fireplace in the background. I have no idea why this image comes to mind...it's totally not what I'm sure most people think of when they eat Thai food. It's just...comforting!

Tonight I made a wonderful and SUPER EASY side dish that takes very little preparation.

Read what Super Foods Magazine had to say about Swiss Chard!

Ingredients:
Approx 20 baby red potatoes, sliced
2 leaves (and stems!) of swiss chard, roughly chopped
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 tablespoon green curry paste
1 tablespoon coconut oil


Add the coconut oil to a large pan, and heat for a minute or two on medium heat.
Add the potatoes and onion and stir occasionally for the next 10 minutes.
Add the coconut milk, and continue to stir occasionally for 5-10 minutes, or until most of the coconut milk has been absorbed.
Add the curry paste, and swiss chard. Cover.

Once the swiss chard is tender (about 5 minutes), you'll be done! Season with S&P!

Coconut Crusted Chicken with Spicy Peach Dipping Salsa

I apologize for the hiatus...this happened last summer, too. I've been very busy (as summers seem to go...), but also haven't really had much worth blogging about until now!

A few weeks ago I went to a girl's night at my friend's place. She served us a delicious recipe similar to this, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Coconut crusted chicken....just thinking about it makes me drool. We had peaches laying around in our fridge, and I thought...coconut....chicken...peaches...yes! I'm going to have it all!

This recipe is extraordinary, and I know I'll be using coconut to crust more than just chicken in the future. We used 2 chicken breasts for this recipe, and ate it for dinner. It would also serve as a fantastic appetizer!

*This recipe contains egg.

Coconut Crusted Chicken with Spicy Peach Dipping Salsa

You will need:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into strips
1 egg, yolk and white lightly whipped
1 cup (at least) unsweetened coconut (I used unsweetened coconut ribbons from Whole Foods and cut them up a bit smaller to accommodate)

AND

2 peaches, peeled with pits removed
1 tbsp raw honey (optional...if your peaches are really sweet, omit! The peaches I had were not at all sweet)
1/2 tsp red chili flakes


1. Using a hand blender, blend peaches, honey, and red chill flakes until MOSTLY smooth. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

2. Dip chicken strips into egg mixture, then coconut. Cover thoroughly with coconut before placing on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

3. Once all are complete, bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Flip, then bake for another 5-7 minutes.

4. Allow to rest for 5 minutes prior to serving.


**I managed to save 2 small pieces and a little salsa before they were all devoured...here's what they look like!

Thai Red Curry Paste

A little while ago I posted a recipe for Thai Green Curry Paste. Here's the sequel: Thai Red Curry Paste. The main difference is in the pepper base. This recipe uses hot red Thai chiles which accounts for the red(der) colour!

This is a spicy recipe! Now, everyone rates spicy differently, but I truly think this would sit at the "Medium" scale in a Thai restaurant. Want less spice- use less chiles...more- use more chillies!

Red Curry is fantastic served with yam, cauliflower, yellow bell peppers, and your choice of protein!

As always, this recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free!
This recipe will make enough for 8-10 large curries.

Homemade Thai Red Curry Paste

17 to 20 (2- to 3-inch-long) dried hot red Thai chiles, halved and seeds discarded
4 teaspoons ground coriander
2 lemongrass stalks (tender inside only)
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
4 teaspoons chopped ginger
6 (4-inch-long) fresh Kaffir lime leaves
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro roots and stems
5 small shallots, chopped
2 green jalapeño peppers, chopped
2 teaspoons shrimp paste (available at South China Market on Granville Island) (I also read that you can sub this for 1 tsp salt if you're a vegetarian...no guarantees though)

Soak dried red chiles in water about 10 minutes.  Blend all ingredients using a blender or a hand blender (hand blender is more effective).
Once it's all blended together, store in the fridge for up to a week. You can also separate the recipe into individual curry servings- store these in ziplock bags in the freezer and just pop them into the pan when you're ready to use!

To make the curry:
Saute half a yellow onion in coconut oil.
Add diced chicken thighs (or your choice of meat or seafood). Cook until no longer pink inside.
Add diced veggies of your choice....really, whatever you want.
Add a generous dollop of this curry paste along with one can of coconut milk (I use Aroy-D--no binders or thickeners).
Cook until veggies are tender. Voila!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

I love tacos. For a long time, I bought those "taco kits" by Old El Paso. They come with the taco shells, some mystery taco spice, and some extra mysterious "taco sauce" (what is that!?). I always threw out the taco sauce...why is it not refrigerated? Something freaky going on there.

In doing some research about the ingredients of taco spice, I learned:

1. One serving size (1/6 of the package), gives you 23% of your daily sodium intake. (woah)
2. Maltodexrin is the number one ingredient. (huh?!)
3. In addition to maltodexrin, there are some extra special ingredients such as: monosodium glutamate, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, silicon dioxide, ethoxyquin (developed by Monsanto, and labelled as 'moderately toxic'), and the ambiguous "natural flavour"

SCARY!

What's all that doing in my spice mix?!!?!

Now, catch your breath...I know that was horrifying. I have the solution

.

Homemade Taco Seasoning. It works the same, it looks the same, it smells the same, but it's MUCH BETTER FOR YOU! (and this version is garlic free)

This recipe will make a lot. Keep it stocked in a jar and add it to your beef, chicken, pork...whatever! It's multi-purpose!

In a large jar, mix together:
1/2 cup chili powder
6 tbsp paprika
1/8 cup onion powder
2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
4 tsp red pepper flakes

Ta-da! Easy peasy.

Thai Green Curry Paste

Have you ever made homemade Thai curry?

Have you ever made homemade Thai curry with your own homemade Thai curry paste?! Now this picture below looks a little like just a bunch of green mush- but it's GLORIOUS when it's made into a beautiful Thai Green Curry.

Well, this was something that I'd wanted to do since I discovered Thai food. My boyfriend and I love our Thai food and have a favourite place we often frequent (It's called Khunnai Chang Thai Cuisine and I HIGHLY recommend it). We fell so in love with Thai food that we started making it regularly at home. Before I made my own batch of curry paste- we used to use Thai Kitchen. Now, that is good...but it is in no way close to the fresh stuff. This curry paste is amazing. It's easy to make (once you have the ingredients...), but now that I'm here to help you- it will be as simple as reciting the alphabet.

The beautiful thing about this recipe is that it is gluten-free and without preservatives or additives!

The hardest things to find are the Kaffir Lime Leaves and Limes. They are essential for this recipe- so don't substitute. These limes are heavenly. I found them at the South China Seas Trading Co. on Granville Island. I couldn't find them at Whole Foods, Safeway, or No Frills. You could probably also find them at a large Asian Grocery Store. The rest of the ingredients I found at No Frills.

If you've never worked with lemongrass before: here's a video on how to do it!

This recipe will make roughly 8-10 large curries.

Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste
2 stalks lemongrass, minced 
5 green jalapeños
3 shallots, sliced
1/4 cup ginger, sliced
1 cup chopped cilantro leaves & stems
1/3 cup dried basil
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. ground coriander
6 tbsp. gluten-free tamari
2 tsp. shrimp paste (available at South China Market on Granville Island) (I also read that you can sub this for 1 tsp salt if you're a vegetarian...no guarantees though)
2 Kaffir lime leaves

The zest of 2 kaffir limes

I blended all ingredients together using my new handy hand blender. I've also made a batch using a regular blender, but it takes a bit more time. Since the paste is thick, you have to stop and hand mix the stuff in the blender often. A hand blender took me 3 minutes at most. 
Once it's all blended together: stuff it in a jar, and put it in the fridge! It lasts up to a week in there. Another option is to put it into Zip-lock bags in single uses, and put that in the freezer! Then, when you're making curry, just pop your single serving amount out of the freezer, and drop it into your pan!

To make the curry:
Saute half a yellow onion in coconut oil.
Add diced chicken thighs (or your choice of meat or seafood)
Add diced bell pepper, bamboo, green beans, eggplant....really, whatever you want.
Add a generous dollop of this curry paste along with one can of coconut milk (I use Aroy-D--no binders or thickeners).
Cook until veggies are tender. Voila!

This curry paste is spicier the more you add! It's honestly amazing. SO worth it. I made a batch for my Dad for his birthday!

Cinnamon Maple Candied Walnuts

Tonight I was hit by a major sweets craving. Chocolate was what I was looking for- but there is none in the house...

Instead, I whipped up some ammmmmaaaaazzzzzzzing cinnamon maple candied walnuts- courtesy of Martha Stewart (I mean, it's her recipe!) Ever had a mad cinnamon bun craving? This will seriously satisfy it. It takes like the gooey goodness of the cinnamon bun...the stuff you lick off your fingers. Oh my!

I've discussed my obsession with maple syrup before. It's partly the Canadian in me...but it's also SO GOOD. I lovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove maple syrup. If it's not something you keep in your kitchen- please- do yourself a favour and go buy a bottle of pure goodness! It'll sweeten your soul!

Here's the original link: "Maple-Candied Walnuts"

Superfood Superpower Nut Bars (Paleo Version of the Oat Bar)

I've been doing a lot of reading on the Paleo way of eating, and I think I might give it a try! In the meantime, I've been trying to eat up all the non-Paleo foods in my house (I hate wasting things), and have been buying a whole lot more veggies, fruit, and meat at the grocery store!

Because I'm OBSESSED with my new oat bars, I decided to play around with the recipe to try to make a Paleo version! They turned out great! Give them a try if you're trying to eliminate ALL grains.

If you're also looking to eliminate the maple syrup, I would suggest adding an additional banana to the mix- keep the apple sauce the same- OR use the equivalent amount of canned pumpkin in place of the maple syrup.

Here's the new recipe:

Paleo Fruit and Nut Bars:

¼ cup Goji Berries
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup black chia seeds
2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
½ cup chopped almonds
3/4 cup hemp hearts
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
½ cup chopped pecans

1 small mashed banana

½ cup unsweetened apple sauce

¼ cup maple syrup (or if you don't want to use this- try the equivalent of canned pumpkin!)

Here's a close up! Look at all that Paleo goodness!

Spicy Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Here's a dinner idea that is not only delicious, but healthy! They're also low-carb- no grains here!
Spicy Turkey Lettuce Wraps

You will need:
lean ground turkey
1 head iceberg lettuce
2 organic carrots, shredded
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cucumber, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 tbsp (or more!) diced fresh ginger
1/2 red pepper, diced

sriracha sauce to taste
pepper to taste
1 tbsp gluten-free tamari sauce

Fry turkey, onion, and ginger over medium heat until the turkey is no longer pink.
Add tamari, red pepper, pepper, and sriracha and continue to fry for 3-4 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine fried mix, carrots, cilantro, and cucumber.

Wrap with iceberg lettuce leaf.
Add more sriracha sauce, if desired!

Superfood Superpower Oat Bars

Tonight I created a recipe for an oat bar filled with healthy seeds, needs, and superfoods! Think protein,  healthy fats, and the added benefits of raw cacao, chia, and goji. Your body will love you.

Absolutely delicious- I hope you enjoy!

You will need:

½ cup roasted pecans, finely chopped

¼ cup goji berries

½ cup raw hemp hearts

2 tbsp raw cacao bits

2 tbsp black chia seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

1 ½ cup rolled oats

1 small mashed banana

½ cup unsweetened apple sauce

¼ cup maple syrup

Roast chopped pecans in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes.

Add all ingredients into a bowl, and stir thoroughly.

Line a glass roasting dish with tin foil, pressing into the edges of the pan.

Press mixture into pan--trying to keep even throughout.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool in the pan.

Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Devil's Food Cupcakes.

OH
MY
GOD.


I made these cupcakes for a celebration I'm attending tomorrow, and I don't know if they will make it.
I bought a Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil's Food Cake Mix a while back and never ended up using it for its intended purpose. Tonight I pulled it out, hesitantly (as I always am with new GF products). Wow

These cupcakes make me cheat a little on other allergies--it requires 3 eggs to bake---but since my egg reactions are so minor, I cheated on this one. Make your own decisions on whether or not you can do this. You know your body!

I followed the recipe on the back, with the following exception:

Instead of 1 cup WATER- I used unsweetened almond milk!

That's the only difference I made! I baked them at 325F(+) for 23 minutes exactly.

I topped them with a classic buttercream icing- again substituting almond milk for milk/cream. Delish!

I'm not kidding when I say this mix is amazing. Pretty sure I (unintentially) closed my eyes the entire time I ate my cupcake. I was that happy.

PS. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of my completed work for you all to see. I decorated the cupcakes with a tiffany blue icing and they were beautiful AND delicious. I served them to people at this celebration, and one woman came up to me and said "Is this ACTUALLY gluten-free? Because, gluten-free stuff is not this good".

Others, who had no idea the cupcake was gluten-free, complimented me on how delicious they were.

Homemade Maple Caramel Popcorn

This is Canadian popcorn at its best. MAPLE caramel popcorn without the corn syrup!

Maple syrup is honestly a gift to man. It is absolutely glorious in all its forms. Have you ever had frozen maple on a stick? So good. Pick one up at your next Canadian farmer's market.

Recipe:

1-3 tbsp Avocado Oil (Coconut oil would also be a great option)
1 cup popcorn kernels

1/2 cup butter
1 cup maple syrup (the real deal!)
 dash sea salt

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Popcorn time! Add your oil to a large pot at medium/high heat. Cover, and gently shake occasionally until the popping stops.
3. Add your butter, maple syrup , and sea salt to a small saucepan. Stir continuously over medium heat. Once you see bubbles, stir for 5 more minutes.
4. Pour over popcorn immediately and stir.
5. Spread mixture onto baking sheets, and bake in oven for 10 minutes- stirring once halfway through.
6. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Next time...I'll add bacon bits!

Chicken Soup for the Soul With a Cold

Last Tuesday I came down with a horrendous cold. They're just so inconvenient, you know? It's putting a serious hamper on my daily activities and production levels!

Since I've been sick, I've been eating Campbell's Chicken and Rice soup like it's going out of style- but I knew there was nothing better for me than homemade.

So tonight- that was my project!
I adapted a recipe from Canadian Living- but it didn't have an essential "get better" ingredient that I wanted to throw in there- GINGER!

Here's my recipe:

Chicken Soup for the Soul With a Cold
*this recipe makes a whole lot of soup- so be ready to put some in the fridge or freezer if you can't finish it all.

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 medium yellow onion
4 ribs celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
4 small yukon gold potatoes- peeled and diced
1/2 yam, peeled and diced
1 tbsp dried thyme (use fresh if you have it!)
3 sprigs fresh parsley, diced (I had some in my garden-- use dried if you only have that)
salt and pepper to taste
5-6 cups reduced sodium gluten-free chicken broth
1/2 cup rinsed jasmine rice
1.5 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and cut into very small pieces

Heat olive oil in your largest pot--you will use only this pot for the soup.
Brown chicken thighs over medium heat.
Once browned, remove from pot- chop into small pieces and set aside for later.

Add onion and celery to the pot.
Saute for 2 minutes.
Add carrots, potato, yam, thyme, parsley, ginger, salt, and pepper.
Saute for 3 minutes.
Return chicken to pot.
Stir in broth and 4 cups water.
Bring to a boil- simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in rice.
Cover, and cook until rice is soft- approximately 15 minutes.

YUMMY!

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie

Get excited.
Right now.

I'm serious.

I made a BRILLIANT gluten-free and dairy-free pumpkin pie that I'm so excited to share. It's nearly Thanksgiving, and you could easily serve this to your guests without them knowing there is anything different about it. I wanted to be able to make a great pie for this occasion, and thought that I'd have to try a few different recipes to find a good one. 

With a few adjustments according to what I had in the fridge- this pie came out absolutely delicious. It might take a few tries to get it cosmetically perfect, because pies can be tricky this way...but I will absolutely be keeping this recipe in my collection.

This is an OVERNIGHT recipe- so plan to start in the evening, and continue the next day.
If you have the chance to chill your flours- this apparently helps, too. I didn't do it, but will try next time to see if it makes a difference.

Gluten-Free Pie Crust

1 cup rice flour

1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch

3 tablespoons millet flour
3 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup COLD butter (keep it in the freezer)
1 egg
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ice-cold water (get a cup of water, throw some ice cubes in it, and put it in the freezer. ICE COLD. Bam!)

Mix together all the dry ingredients. Cut the butter in. When you are finished, the whole mix should look grainy. Butter should be no larger than pea-sized pieces.

Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add the egg and apple cider vinegar. 
Gently stir, and then slowly add the ice cold water. Mixture should not be too wet, but should be able to be pressed into a ball of dough.

Take the dough, and press it onto a large sheet of parchment paper. Place another large piece of parchment on top, and roll the dough outward into a round shape. Dough should extend at least 4 inches past the edges of your pie plate.

Refrigerate this dough (ideally) overnight. Take it out of the fridge 20 minutes before you want to work with it. 

Peel off the top layer of parchment and lay your pie plate on top. This is the scariest part...FLIP it over! Lightly peel the last layer of parchment off.
DON'T WORRY if you butcher your dough at this point. I did, and ended up pressing it all back together- and it still turned out great!

Trim the edges of the pie, and if you'd like, you can crimp the pieces or press a fork into the edges to create a cute little design.  

Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. (Mine took 15...watch for it until it's golden brown)

Cool COMPLETELY. 

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Filling:

 2/3 cup coconut milk
(Just less than) 1/2 cup sugar
 2 eggs
 1 (14-ounce) can organic pumpkin puree
 3 tablespoons millet flour
 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the mix, and combine well. 
Pour into the cooled pie crust, and bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes (again, mine took 55...wait until the middle of the pie is fairly firm.) It's always a good idea to put some tin foil over the edges of the pie- so they don't get burnt during baking! 

Yellow Yam Curry

I have the ability to make a meal out of what's left in seemingly empty cupboards. There are those days where it's been awhile since you've been grocery shopping, and you don't have the time to go!
That's the situation I was stuck in tonight, and I ended up making a delicious dinner out of what I had.

In my kitchen I had:

Can of light coconut milk
3/4 package of rice stick noodles
yellow curry paste
yellow onion
1 yam
leftover chicken stock
fish sauce
Coconut Oil

This dish ended up warm, comforting, and delicious. Perfect for Vancouver's first rainy Autumn night.

Yellow Yam Curry

3 tbsp coconut oil
1 can light coconut milk
Rice stick noodles, cooked.
2 tbsp Thai Kitchen Yellow Curry Paste
1 medium yellow onion
1 medium yam, peeled and cut into bite size pieces.
1/4 cup chicken stock (make sure it's gluten free!)
1 tbsp Thai Kitchen Fish Sauce
1 cup cooked chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces.

Instructions:

Heat coconut oil in frying pan over medium heat.
Add chopped yellow onion, and fry until soft.

While onion is cooking: boil yam pieces for 9 minutes.

Add curry paste, and combine well with onion.
Add coconut milk, chicken stock, and fish sauce.
Add chicken breast, and cooked yam.

Simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve over rice noodles.

Protein Powder and Favourite Smoothies!

With so many different protein powders on the market- it's hard to pick which one. I've had great, good, average, and terrible protein powders, and with all my allergies it's tough to find one that works!

I discovered Organic Rice Protein by Prairie Naturals through a friend, and absolutely love it! It comes in 360 and 720g versions, and in several flavours! It's organic, and vegan-- which I think is tougher to find on the market. Most protein powders have whey- which is milk-derived. It's 100% gluten-free, and is made from sprouted brown rice.

There are 24 grams of protein per serving, and most importantly, it's delicious.
I've tried only the French Vanilla favour, but it also comes in Café Caramel, and Natural. You can find information on all of Prairie Naturals protein products here.

I bought the 360g one, but found that between me and my boyfriend, we ZOOMED through the whole thing. I'm much happier with the 720g, but it's harder to find! In Vancouver, you can find the 720g at Body Energy Club for the best price of $38.99. Whole Foods sells the 360g flavours, but not as good of value.

Here are some smoothie recipes I've created, and have daily! They fill me up, and none of that "they really fill you up" diet lies--I mean it!

Awake Smoothie Recipe:

1 medium banana
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
Splash of juice
4 ice cubes
1 chunk of cucumber (about 2 inches- skin and all)
Small handful of kale
2 Scoops Organic Rice Protein
1 tsp Macha

Blend until smooth!


Simple Vanilla Smoothie:

1 medium banana
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
2 scoops Organic Rice Protein

Blend until smooth!


Cucumber is a great addition to a smoothie- it's a low-calorie, neutral vegetable that can go undetected in your otherwise fruity smoothie! Great way to get your greens!